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Prevention and Public Health

Prevention and Public Health

The research area involves prevention of cardiovascular disease in the general population and in patient groups who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease. It covers the total age range from conception up to old age, evidently focussing on those cardiovascular diseases that are relevant for each age group: CHD and heart failure in elderly, stroke in middle and older age, diabetes type 2 and metabolic syndrome in adolescents, adults and elderly, and early indicators of cardiovascular disease in children and adolescents.

Our research uitklapper, klik om te openen

Summary

The research area Prevention and Public Health focusses on prevention of cardiovascular diseases in the general population and patient groups with high cardiovascular risk. The backbone of the research activities consists of data from long-running cohort studies covering the total lifespan. Harmonization and integration of these cohorts and evaluation of new biomarkers in biological samples will provide opportunities for innovative research. Collaboration with other research areas in the programme will strengthen translational research.

Our research projects focus on:

  • etiology and intervention: individual and population-level risk factors as targets for primary prevention, such as nutrition, reproductive ageing, stress, lifestyle and environmental exposure
  • risk stratification and prediction: methods to identify high-risk groups and high-risk individuals for early interventions or preventive treatment. In close collaboration with research area “Clinical research methods”

Longitudinal studies in adults, elderly and children form the backbone of this research area.

Relation with patient groups

There is a relation with all patient groups in the programme in the sense that prevention research is directed towards all patient groups. Once the individuals become a patient though, research addressing matters of secondary prevention fall under research area “Clinical interventions and therapeutic innovations”

Key publications uitklapper, klik om te openen

van Rossem L, Wijga AH, de Jongste JC, Koppelman GH, Oldenwening M, Postma DS, Abrahamse-Berkeveld M, van de Heijning B, Brunekreef B, Smit HA. Blood pressure in 12-year-old children is associated with fatty acid composition of human milk: the prevention and incidence of asthma and mite allergy birth cohort. Hypertension. 2012;60(4):1055-60.

van de Woestijne AP, van der Graaf Y, Liem AH, Cramer MJ, Westerink J,
Visseren FL; SMART Study Group. Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol is not a risk factor for recurrent vascular events in patients with vascular disease on intensive lipid-lowering medication. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013;62(20):1834-41.

Abeelen AF van, Elias SG, Bossuyt PM, Grobbee DE, van der Schouw YT, Roseboom TJ, Uiterwaal CS. Cardiovascular consequences of famine in the young.  Eur Heart J. 2012;33(4):538-45.

Adan RA. Mechanisms underlying current and future anti-obesity drugs. Trends
Neurosci. 2013;36(2):133-40.

Hulsegge G, Picavet HS, Blokstra A, Nooyens AC, Spijkerman AM, van der Schouw
YT, Smit HA, Verschuren WM. Today's adult generations are less healthy than their predecessors: generation shifts in metabolic risk factors: the Doetinchem Cohort Study. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2013 Apr 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Principal investigators uitklapper, klik om te openen

Coordinator

Prof. dr. Jet Smit

PIs

RAH Adan, E Kalkhoven, CSP Uiterwaal, FJM Broekmans, BCJ Fauser, A Franx-2, JWJ Beulens, MI Geerlings, GJE Rinkel, AW Hoes, W Spiering, FLJ Visseren, B.Brunekreef, DE Grobbee, YT van der Schouw, LJ Kappelle, FL Moll, HW de Valk

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